Bike wreck

marry me

i whispered it quietly
pre dawn quiet
so i wouldn't wake you

so you wouldn't hear me

and i ran my fingers on your back
tripping over your ribs
the rocks of your spine

i reveled in the nakedness of you

the rough of my fingers snagged
a scar
just below your heart
where the sheets and your arm met
like they were meant to embrace

and i imagined you
six
bowlcut, gaptoothed, rawknees
careening down a hill

it was a hill i remembered
from my childhood
not yours
but i imagined you there
nonetheless

and your bike it was red
it must have been
and you missed or skipped
or something
and fell

my heart
my heart breaks for you
collapsed in a heap
of six and blood and scars

i pull your not-six body into my lap
oversized pietas lap
cradle you for the child you were
whispering insistently
allthewhile